Stock update - IP-5 Oxygen generating canisters
Price: £30 for four units
Model: RP-5M
Source: Ebay seller bea27storee
Description: Soviet IP-5 rebreather oxygen canisters
This time on stock update we have the unique IP-5 rebreather once again and more specifically the oxygen generating canisters which fit in it.
Basically these canisters work by scrubbing the exhaled air of carbon dioxide etc and replacing it with fresh oxygen by way of a chemical reaction. Think potassium superoxide.
This reaction happens continuously over and over until the can is empty.
An East german instruction booklet
I already own three IP-5 rebreathers but didn't have many of the canisters which go with them. The reason for this is because they are hard to find and expensive generally. The IP-5 rebreathers don't normally ship with these canisters when you buy them from the internet. Mainly because they weigh a ton and pose a potential health and safety issue.
Some ebay sellers will sell the canisters indirectly but the cost is still more than the rest of the kit as a rule.
Buying an IP-5 rebreather kit without the canister is fine but it's incomplete as a kit if it's left out. I like to have a filter for every gas mask in my collection so I was always going to buy a few of these when I had the chance.
Remember this fella? He still looks happy in his IP-5
Finding spare IP-5 canisters on the surplus market isn't as easy as it sounds with only a couple of sellers on ebay UK. The cheaper of the two stores were selling them for around £17.50 each with free postage but there was the opportunity to barter with the guy.
As I already owned one canister I still needed two more for my other kits so I decided to make him an offer of £30 for two which would be a saving of a fiver.
The seller happily accepted my offer and I awaited my canisters in the post.
To see my original review of the complete IP-5 kit click HERE
3 polish and 1 Soviet RP-5Ms
A large parcel arrived a few days later which looked much bigger than perhaps it should. Upon opening the box I found that rather than sending me two canisters he has sent me four! What a bonus! Looking through the loot it seems that I have been given three polish made cans and one original soviet can. So in the end it seems that these accessories have ended up costing me about £7.50 each. A price that's much easier to swallow.
IP-5s are still being used today!
The video Above shows some russian lads taking a tank through a river and deliberately flooding it out. Check out their breathing apparatus! @ 2:00 min
The Polish RP-5M
Faser manufactured Can
It wasn't only the Soviets who were making these canisters during the cold war (and beyond) It seems that Faser in poland were also making their own licensed version for use in the IP-5.
As far as I know poland never adopted the IP-5 rebreather for use in their own armed forces so one can only assume that they were being made there and shipped out somewhere else - probably russia and east germany.
These canisters are made from what looks like stainless steel and feature all of the same ports, bungs and priming handle as the original.
Most were made in the late 1980s
The Soviet/Russian RP-5M
These are the proper canisters that go with the IP-5
And here we have an original canister dressed in cacky coloured brown paint.
These canisters are much harder to find than the polish version for some unknown reason. There are no discernable markings on it apart from what looks like a manufacture date of 1988.
The problem with the Polish versions
Around the top and bottom of both canisters is a metal lip which acts as a seal around the canister during manufacture. The lip on the left canister is noticeably bigger than the one on the right canister.
Hard to make out but the polish can is longer in comparison
and here in this photo the silver canister on the left is longer in size than the brown one on the right. It's not that noticeable here but there is a difference.
So what's the problem?
Well the problem only becomes apparent when it comes to fitting the canister in it's harness. It's virtually impossible to securely buckle the straps in place when using the silver canisters. The straps just won't pull far enough round to fasten in the buckle.
Fitting the original brown canisters is absolutely no problem at all.
The straps fits perfectly around the unit and into the buckle with ease.
I couldn't understand what was going on? Poland never made an IP-5 of their own and certainly not one which had a slightly larger canister pocket so why are these bigger?
It remains a mystery but for now there may be a work around to solve the issue.
If the metal lips on either end of the silver canisters could be bet downwards then they would fit snuggly. The brown soviet version does appear to have its edges curled downwards.
Using the canisters
The IP-5 rebreather was originally issued to soviet tank crews as an underwater rescue system should the tank get submerged. They were also issued to soviet special forces frogmen for stealthy underwater missions (allegedly) . The oxygen generating canisters could provide up to 180 mins of air (depending on work load) and work in depths up to 30ft. As the IP-5 is a closed circuit rebreather it does not release any air bubbles and so could be considered a stealth item.
The canister in it's holder
Personally I wont be jumping into my nearest lake and have a swim about. Not only is there a small risk of the canister exploding if there is any water ingress but its also very difficult to tell when the oxygen stops being generated. Carbon dioxide will eventually stop being scrubbed by the canister and the build up could asphyxiate the user without them even knowing about it.
Its all sounds a little scary so the wise thing to do would be to keep them as part of the complete kit and never activate them. They should be perfectly safe on the shelf with the plugs left in.
Still a great looking rebreather
The IP-5 rebreather has to be one of my favourites, it is a unique diving gas mask which has never been copied or emulated. I suspect that one day this will become a most curious collectors item but without the canisters they are incomplete. I'm just glad I could get a few now before they become even more scarce!
